In a bid to give a boost to his 'Make In Maharashtra' initiative, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is all set to accompany Prime Minister Narendra Modi to China, where the focus will be on developing relations between the two nations and carrying out sustainable urbanisation.
An official from the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Office said that on the first day of his five-day visit, Fadnavis will attend the Provincial Leaders' Forum, where the role of Indian states and Chinese provinces in fostering closer developmental partnership between India and China would be discussed.
Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel will also visit China along with a 26-member delegation of industry and officials. The trip to China will be her first foreign trip as a head of state along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the six-day tour starting from Thursday and concluding on May 20, Gujarat delegation led by Patel will visit cities like Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, officials in the Chief Minister's Office said on Wednesday.
However, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said he would not be in Beijing when Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertakes his three-day visit to China. This is not the first time Siddaramaiah has declined an offer from Modi.
"It (my not going) is because of (Gram Panchayat) polls and because the invitation came too late," Siddaramaiah told reporters here, when asked why he was not travelling to China. Responding to the invitation from Modi, Siddaramaiah said he had earlier itself expressed his inability to visit China, adding, however, that there were no "political reasons" for it.
Chief Ministers from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka were expected to be in Beijing when Modi reaches there, with focus on attracting investments for their states. Gujarat and Maharashtra CM will not be part of the Prime Minister's official entourage but travel separately to be in Beijing when Modi reaches there. The Chief Ministers will be attending a programme in Beijing to be addressed by the Prime Minister.
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